‘Your dreams are safe, Beti’: UP CM Yogi Adityanath assures edu support to Class 7 girl

Lucknow: For 13-year-old Pankhuri Tripathi from Gorakhpur’s Purdilpur locality, the first day of the new academic session did not begin in a classroom — it began with a heartfelt plea before the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. What followed was a moment of compassion that the Class 7 student says she will never forget.

Struggling to continue her studies due to her family’s financial distress, Pankhuri arrived at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Janata Darshan at the Gorakhnath temple complex on Tuesday morning with a single request — help with her school fees.

With folded hands and tear-filled eyes, she told the CM: “Maharaj ji, I want to study. Please help with the fees or get it waived.” Moved by her courage and clarity, the CM paused, heard her patiently, and responded with warmth: “Beti, your education will not stop. I will ensure the school waives your fee. And if that does not happen, I will arrange it myself.”

The CM then instructed officials on the spot to take up her case and ensure that no financial hurdle blocks her education.

Pankhuri, a student of an English-medium school, shared that her father Rajeev Tripathi has been rendered physically disabled, and her mother Meenakshi supports the family by working in a local shop. Her elder brother is in Class 12, and with mounting expenses, the family had reached a breaking point.

Unable to pay her school fees, Pankhuri skipped class and headed directly to the CM’s public meeting. After the assurance, she requested a photograph with the CM. He happily obliged.

“There is no one like Maharaj ji,” she said later, clutching the picture and calling the moment “the happiest of my life.”